Month: September 2024

NFL Week Four Winners and Losers

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What an exciting week four. An All-Pro linebacker scored his first NFL touchdown, Cincinnati got their first win of the season and two teams remain undefeated after four games. The last Sunday of September delivered surprising results and some exciting divisional matchups. Here’s what stood out at the end of the month.

Winners: Sean Payton

Denver had the ugliest win but it wasn’t possible without head coach Sean Payton keeping the team focused. At one point rookie quarterback Bo Nix had seven completed passes for minus seven yards in the first half. Thankfully the Broncos trailed by six points and played better the second half.

The 12th overall pick threw his first career touchdown to wide receiver Courtland Sutton in the third quarter, taking a brief one point lead. On defense, Denver’s front seven dominated and the secondary was perfect. Jets kicker Greg Zuerlein missed a 50 yard field goal to end the game after the Broncos special teams goaded New York’s long snapper into messing up the snap before the kick. It was the first loss of quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ career where he didn’t throw a touchdown.

This is where having a head coach who’s been in the league for decades became a positive. Payton had the Broncos ready to play even if the rookie quarterback and offense had few bright spots. Denver’s still building and finding what identities they want on all sides of the ball, but it’s easier to find and work with after winning two straight games against quality playoff opponents.

Fred Warner

Until he left the game with an ankle injury, San Francisco’s star middle linebacker and defensive captain Fred Warner was an early candidate for league MVP. This was one of Warner’s best months of his career, and that’s saying how great he’s been since leading head coach Kyle Shanahan’s defense to the Super Bowl five years ago.

The 49ers all but sealed a win in a dominant first half against New England. Fred Warner intercepted a tipped Jacoby Brissett pass and ran it back 45 yards for the first touchdown of the game. It was Warners first score of his professional career. He also had an important pass deflection that could’ve been intercepted and recorded seven tackles in one half.

San Francisco’s banged up on offense with a lot of injuries to star players, but the team is at .500 because Warner and the defense kept them in one score games or held double digit leads. Let’s hope he’s not out long.

The Washington Commanders offense

The 2024 Washington offense might be one of the best in the NFL. The Commanders ended September scoring at least 20 points a game. At one point they scored on 16 straight drives (excluding game ending kneeldowns) and continue to set league scoring records without giveaways.

It starts with offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury. The former Cardinals coach wanted revenge for getting fired less than two years ago. He made sure Washington never let up whether by pass or run. Rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels completed 26 of 30 passes for 233 yards, a touchdown and a 96.3 quarterback rating. His 82.1 completion percentage is the best through four games of a season (minimum 40 attempts) and his 218 rushing yards is the second-most by a quarterback through four games of a season (via NBC’s Football Night in America). Daniels played almost two perfect football games in six days and is a big reason Washington has first place in the NFC east.

It’s not just the Kingsbury-Daniels tandem looking stellar. Brian Robinson had another 100 yard performance in Arizona and a touchdown. The receiving duo of Olamide Zaccheaus and Terry McLaurin could be one of the NFL’s best. Veteran tight-end Zach Ertz remains one of the league’s best red zone threats. Opposing defenses will struggle to stop this offense all four quarters the rest of this season.

Losers: Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia was hard to gauge this month. They either won close games, or found ways to lose at the worst times. Sunday they were beaten in the same way the Buccaneers eliminated them last postseason. Tampa Bay’s offense racked up over 400 yards and four touchdowns. At one point the Eagles were down 24-0 before a late, Parris Campbell one yard touchdown in the second quarter.

Philadelphia’s inconsistency is mostly on the coaching staff and offense. While right tackle Lane Johnson and receivers A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith have missed time due to injuries, the regression continues for quarterback Jalen Hurts since the Super Bowl loss to Kansas City. Linebacker Lavonte David forced Hurts to commit another fumble on a promising third quarter drive. It didn’t help that new starting center Landon Dickerson watched the fumble happen and didn’t do anything to recover the ball. Still, Jalen Hurts led an offense that had zero yards six minutes left into the second quarter. Tight end Dallas Goedert and receiver Jahan Dotson are great targets Hurts hasn’t built more chemistry with in Brown and Smith’s absences. Finally, head coach Nick Sirianni didn’t use his running backs as much as he should’ve after the first possession and the Eagles never had a chance.

Thankfully Philadelphia gets their bye week and has more time to get healthy and fix the offensive issues. The Eagles better fix their mistakes on every side of the ball and find ways to get back to their 2022-2023 Super Bowl form or the season will be over before Thanksgiving.

Cleveland Browns offense

There’s no worse disaster after September than the Browns offense. Not only is franchise quarterback DeShaun Watson losing the off-field reputation battle (he’s now being sued by multiple women yet again for sexual assault), he’s definitely lost the top value talent he had before his 2021 Houston hiatus. They’re third worst in yards per game and lead the league in drops. It’s been a nightmare start for a team picked by many to make the playoffs.

Cleveland went to Vegas a week after backup quarterback Andy Dalton shredded the Raider defense. Watson and the offense started fast, scoring ten points on their first two possessions. The Browns ran 21 plays for 87 yards in 12:44. The last three quarters? Nothing. Cleveland’s defense had their lone second half score after Vegas runningback Zahir White fumbled the ball and safety Rodney McLeod Jr. returned it for a touchdown. The Browns thought they had a lead on Amari Cooper’s 82 yard touchdown, but that was called back due to a holding call on center Nick Harris. Cleveland’s offense mustered 98 yards before their last possession of the game. They lost when Watson was sacked on fourth down trying to find one of his receivers double covered in the Raiders endzone.

It’s not like Watson and head coach Kevin Stefanski don’t have talented players to help out. Receivers Jerry Jeudy and Cooper are almost non-existent. Runningback Jerome Ford isn’t a starting runningback who can handle a constant workload, and Elijah Moore isn’t a deep field threat.

There’s a lot of blame to go around from the organization to the offensive coaches. Head coach Kevin Stefanski isn’t getting the most out of the available talent. Not only is the Browns offense worse than last year’s, they make opposing defenses like Vegas’ (without defensive captain and star pass rusher Maxx Crosby) look great. It might be time to start trading players before the week nine deadline.

Any team in the AFC that thinks they’ll get past Kansas City

You’d think a Chiefs team dealing with all kinds of offensive injuries would get smacked around by opposing defenses each Sunday. Somehow head coach Andy Reid finds ways for his offense to score more than expected.

Starting quarterback and face of the franchise Patrick Mahomes II accidentally injured go-to receiver Rashee Rice’s knee with his elbow (in what could be a season ending injury) and it didn’t matter. Tight end Travis Kelce and rookie receiver Xavier Worthy combined for ten catches and 162 yards. The runningback duo of Kareem Hunt and Samaje Perine had 19 touches for 83 yards. Both will get better with more playing time and running behind the interior offensive line.

The other 15 teams in their conference can’t get out of their own way. Baltimore and Los Angeles are two teams that could end Kansas City’s Super Bowl three peat run, but they’ve both lost to them a month into the season. The Chiefs are the lone undefeated team in the AFC after September.

There’s a lot of football left to be played and anything could happen the next three months. Injuries usually factor who goes up or down in the standings. Yet it must be deflating for a lot of teams to realize they can’t beat Kansas City no matter the circumstances.

2024 WNBA Semi-Finals Predictions

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What a fast first round of playoff basketball. All four teams that advanced swept their opponents and are closer to the championship. The semi-finals should be more fun and give us the best basketball we’ve seen all year. The two teams who win their series go to the championship round. It’s time to decide which two teams have the best chance of making the finals.

#1 New York Liberty v. #4 Las Vegas Aces

Vegas has to get more out of Chelsea Gray (12) in order to get past Sabrina Ionescu (20) and the Liberty.

True WNBA fans are excited for this special series. The sequel to last year’s finals matchup should be one of the most watched series of the playoffs. The unanimous MVP A’ja Wilson will battle against elite center Jonquel Jones for at least three games. Guard play will be fun and there will be a lot of points, rebounds and blocks.

New York swept the regular season series and always looked in control no matter how well Wilson played. The Liberty have better roster depth this year and it showed in each regular season win. The Aces might have the best player all-time in her prime, but it won’t be enough if their bench doesn’t step up.

Prediction: Liberty win series 3-1

#2 Minnesota Lynx v. #3 Connecticut Sun

Second best player in the WNBA Napheesa Collier will go against the league’s most physical defense for at least three games.

Liberty-Aces will gain more attention for many reasons, but this series should be the best in the semi-finals. Every game Minnesota and Connecticut played versus each other was close. The Sun are determined to win their first ever championship while it’s another stellar year for the Lynx under coach Cheryl Reeve.

Both teams have some of the league’s best players, but coaching in critical situations and championship pedigree plays a part in which team advances. Minnesota lost both of their games to the Sun before Connecticut traded for guard Marina Mabrey in August. The Lynx’s lone win was when Mabrey played more minutes. Reeve is known for adjustments late in playoff series and how to contain other team’s stars. The Sun are more determined but more likely to get into foul trouble and be easily frustrated in a longer series.

Prediction: Lynx win series 3-2

First round playoff predictions: 4-0

NFL Week Three Winners and Losers

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Week three of the NFL regular season featured many pivotal games. Most divisions are slowly showing which teams will stand out as playoff favorites before Halloween. While a lot of wins and plays stood out, some were more eye-opening than others. Here are this weeks winners and losers.

Winners: Malik Willis

Packers starting quarterback Jordan Love wasn’t ready to return Sunday, so backup Malik Willis got the start against the team that drafted him, Tennessee. Willis wasn’t utilized well with the Titans. Despite his week two win against Indianapolis, many believed if Green Bay won, it would have to be Willis creating more big plays.

He did more than expected in a 30-14 win over Tennessee. Willis completed 13 of 19 passes for 202 yards, a touchdown and a 120.9 quarterback rating. He also ran six times for 73 yards and an additional score. Green Bay’s double digit lead made the win inevitable, but Malik Willis’ 30 yard touchdown pass to runningback Emanuel Wilson in the third quarter sealed it.

There’s been many complaints about quarterback play the first month of the season, and coaching is part of the problem. The Packers are again unaffected due to how head coach Matt LaFleur has done well with a young roster and helped young passers like Malik Willis learn more of the playbook while playing to their strengths. Willis helped his team pick up two wins without their starting passer and will be a talking point this week and October.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Last week Steelers quarterback Justin Fields made the winners column because of how he’s gradually improved and made his new team trust him more to score at important times. This week the whole team deserves a spot because of how dominant they were in a home win against the undefeated Chargers.

Pittsburgh’s defense is a big reason they’re undefeated. Although they sealed a win by knocking out Los Angeles franchise star quarterback Justin Herbert midway through the third quarter, it’s possible the Steelers still would’ve won if Herbert played the whole game. Pittsburgh had five sacks on both quarterbacks and held Jim Harbaugh’s offense to under 250 yards. After two weeks of running the ball at will, J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards had 18 combined touches for 53 yards. The Steelers front seven never let Los Angeles get going on the ground.

Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith saw another week of improvement. Fields was impressive, but so was everyone else. The offensive line pushed the running game to another 100 yard week and third year receiver Calvin Austin III led receivers with four catches for 95 yards and their lone touchdown catch.

Pittsburgh’s one of two teams in the AFC who have won all three games played to start the season (Buffalo’s 2-0, but plays later tonight), the other being defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City. The Steelers have a two game lead on the AFC north. It’ll take time for the division to try and catch up.

Andy Dalton

The Panthers offense hadn’t put up more than 27 points in a game since December 2023. Carolina also hadn’t held a lead past 10 seconds in that timespan. They put all that to rest Sunday with Andy Dalton’s first start in a full calendar year.

The Panthers made a bold move to bench 2023 number one overall pick Bryce Young because of his struggles to read defenses, find open receivers, and score more than ten points a game. Head coach Dave Canales made the switch to see if Dalton could still lead an offense and score more points.

Andy Dalton completed 26 of 37 passes for 319 yards, three touchdowns and a 123.6 passer rating. All three of his scores were thrown in the first half of a dominant win in Las Vegas. The Panthers shredded the Raiders defense in every facet (more on them later) and won 36-22. Carolina had as many passing touchdowns Sunday as Bryce Young’s last ten starts, and led Vegas for 49:17.

It’s possible the Panthers offense rallied around the 14 year veteran quarterback. It’s also unlikely due to how Dalton led Carolina to a previous high scoring game last season. Dalton might not lose the starting job for the rest of 2024 due to how he can read a field better and make the most of a solid receiving core.

Detroit Lions defense

Most weeks you’ll hear how Detroit’s offense stole the show and had a combination of a dominant game-winning drive, highlight reel play, and a fourth down conversion. On Sunday it was the Lions defense that deserved accolades.

Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn struggled calling the right plays two weeks into the regular season. Yesterday his defense held the Cardinals offense to under 300 yards for the first time this month. Safety Kerby Joseph intercepted Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray once and defensive end Aidan Hutchinson had a sack. The defense swarmed runningback James Conner whenever he had the ball and made sure receivers like Michael Wilson didn’t gain many yards after their catches.

In previous years, many viewers would’ve said this would be rare due to how Detroit’s defense was inconsistent. General manager Brad Holmes keeps adding talent to the secondary and depth on the front seven. It’s possible this was the first of many games the Lions defense dominates this season.

Losers: Will Levis

As wonderful of a win former Titan quarterback Malik Willis had against his former team, it was as deflating a loss for current Tennessee quarterback Will Levis.

Each Titans regular season game this season, Willis has committed at least one major gaffe on offense that’s led to a touchdown for the opposing defense. This week, Green Bay’s ten point lead in the first quarter came from a Jaire Alexander interception that led to a 35 yard touchdown (the first touchdown scored in Alexander’s NFL career). Levis forcing passes to receivers in contested coverage led to another interception late when the game was out of reach.

Tennessee head coach Brian Callahan didn’t hold back criticism on Will Levis’ mistakes after the first two losses. This was their first double digit loss of the season. The blowout would’ve been more tolerable if it was against a playoff contender like Baltimore or division rival Houston. Losing to a former almost-franchise-now-backup quarterback by double digits means Levis could get benched by next month.

Ryan Poles

If a general manager is in the losers column the first month of the season, then the team is in trouble. General manager Ryan Poles should be on the hot seat after Chicago’s brutal loss in Indianapolis.

One might find it harsh due to how Poles used the number one pick on a new quarterback and also executed a bunch of signings and trades the last few years. The problem is the Bears look awful top to bottom despite early season injuries at wide receiver. For clarity, this was a Chicago red zone play late in the second quarter.

The offensive line wouldn’t have been a problem if the Bears traded the number one pick for other top round picks (like they have the last few seasons) or drafted more offensive linemen in previous years. To add injury to insult, starting left tackle Braxton Jones left in the first quarter due to a knee injury. Current first overall pick Caleb Williams threw his first touchdown in the fourth quarter of his third game of the season and Chicago lost after 15th overall pick Laiatu Latu strip-sacked Williams and recovered the ball. If Latu was picked by Poles, the Bears might not have given up 140 rushing yards.

It doesn’t help Ryan Poles decided to retain current head coach Matt Eberflus after last year’s horrible season. The defensive minded Eberflus staying to help the number one overall pick learn and develop his talents on offense is going as many expected: poorly. The Bears are notorious for letting previous regimes stay around after drafting a quarterback, and Poles is no different from his predecessors.

This years NFC north is one of the league’s better divisions. Three of the four teams are well coached, well balanced on all sides of the ball, and had great drafts last offseason. Chicago is once again on the outside looking in and their general manager is a big reason.

Las Vegas Raiders

Despite one win in three games, the Raiders look awful. Their win in Baltimore came on a 13 point fourth quarter rally (the Ravens are becoming known for blowing double digit leads the last few seasons). Vegas’ two losses have been by 14 or more points.

Earlier it was mentioned how Carolina struggled to even hold a lead in the fourth quarter heading into yesterday. They thrashed the Raiders after the first quarter. Dalton’s veteran experience and adjustments against a young secondary was part of it, but the Panthers also ran the ball well. Chuba Hubbard ran 21 times for 114 yards.

Kicker Eddy Pineiro added 12 points on special teams. Meanwhile, 15 of Vegas’ 22 points came in the fourth quarter when the game was out of reach. The Gardner Minshew II experiment looks more miss than hit and the Raiders are dead last in running the football. Head coach Antonio Pierce was brought back because he’s a smart yet tough leader. One could say the team’s execution week-to-week is on him and his coaching staff. While that could be true, upper management is still making the same old mistakes under owner Mark Davis.

Stephen Ross for somehow wanting Mike McDaniel as head coach

For new fans and readers wondering why Miami’s struggling, you have to go back to February 2022 when then-head coach Brian Flores was surprisingly fired after getting the Dolphins over .500 with a 9-8 record. He was then replaced by a younger, offensive “guru” coach from San Francisco named Mike McDaniel. McDaniel was ok his first season before Miami started hot last year and erupted for an infamous 70-20 home win over Denver. Since that landslide victory, the Dolphins are 9-9 (including playoffs).

What makes this situation completely hilarious is how the now-extended franchise starting quarterback (when not concussed and twitching) Tua Tagovailoa ripped the former head coach in the offseason for, “being a bully” and how Flores said many mean things to him. Well…Brian Flores is well respected on the teams he’s coached and has improved every defense since his firing. Two of the current undefeated teams this month had Flores on their staff at some point since 2022. Meanwhile Miami’s injured star quarterback who’s addicted to throwing deep-field passes to star wide receivers, doesn’t want to learn how to read different defensive coverages, and can’t play winning football by utilizing other offensive talent when opposing coordinators confuse him with mixed defensive schemes. Tagovailoa doesn’t even know how to slide safely to protect his head, a key move professional quarterbacks implement by their fourth year in the league.

Then there’s McDaniel in his nightmare third season as head coach. Miami was throttled on the road in Seattle. Rookie head coach Mike Macdonald embarrassed every quarterback McDaniel put on the field and the Seahawks offense torched a subpar Dolphins defense. The cherry on top of an absolute beatdown came when Miami failed to score a fourth and goal play at Seattle’s two yard line, then Geno Smith and the Seahawks led a 12 play, 98 yard touchdown drive that lasted five and a half minutes. It was Seattle’s first and only score of the second half. The Seahawks beat Miami so thoroughly, they didn’t need to score more than ten points.

One error many owners and general managers keep making is firing a head coach because a new, flashy coordinator (who can barely manage every bit of their side of the ball) becomes popular in the media. Mike McDaniel is not a head coach who should oversee a 53 man roster. He enjoys drawing up creative trick plays on offense and stutters to answer simple questions. His predecessor by contrast wasn’t afraid of being honest with the media and frequently called out an overhyped, 2020 seventh overall pick for consistently playing garbage football.

There aren’t any excuses or counters for this team. Keep in mind Miami now has the longest playoff win drought in the NFL. Flashy, fantasy football stats and highlight plays don’t buy you wins in the postseason.

2024 WNBA First Round Playoff Predictions

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It’s been a fantastic and historic season for the WNBA. All kinds of records were broken on and off the court. There’s been a lot of praise over the rookies and veterans. Most teams looked great no matter the month. Now for the playoffs.

The first round should be a quick but fun time. Four teams must advance to the second round by two games in a three game series. It’s time to pick which four have the best chances to extend their championship run.

#2 Minnesota Lynx v. #7 Phoenix Mercury

Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier has been the second best player in the WNBA this season, leading her team to first place in the west.

Let’s start with an easy series. Minnesota won three of their four games against Phoenix in the regular season. All three were by double digits while the Mercury’s only win was by one point. Phoenix has been through injury roller coasters and doesn’t have a coach who can make similar adjustments to the Lynx’s Cheryl Reeves. This should be a quick series.

Prediction: Lynx win series 2-0

#1 New York Liberty v. #8 Atlanta Dream

Another easy series to predict. The only fun part was wondering which team would get the last playoff seed. New York has their starting five back at full health and will roll over the Dream. Unless it’s the only series on at the time, there’s no point wondering who advances.

Prediction: Liberty win series 2-0

#3 Connecticut Sun v. #6 Indiana Fever

The Sun and Fever have played each other better since June. Now it’s time to see how Indiana fares in their return to the playoffs.

Indiana’s back in the playoffs after a six year drought. Unfortunately they drew the meanest and most physical team for the first round. Connecticut went all-in at the trade deadline and views anything less than a championship as a failure.

The young Fever could steal a game, but the lockdown defense from Alyssa Thomas, DiJonai Carrington and DeWanna Bonner will force Indiana into more mistakes. The Fever defense is still one of the league’s worst and will be exploited by the Sun’s veteran offense.

Prediction: Sun win series 2-1

#4 Las Vegas Aces v. #5 Seattle Storm

Seattle’s Skylar Diggins-Smith has enjoyed a better year in the Emerald City.

One almost feels bad for Seattle. The Storm had a great season and might have drawn an easier first round opponent if Vegas didn’t stumble for half the season.

The Aces dominated Seattle in three of their four games. Center A’ja Wilson might have one of the best playoff series of her career, extending her unanimous MVP season.

Prediction: Aces win series 2-1

NFL Week Two Winners and Losers

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It’s hard to have a spectacular follow-up week of games after the NFL’s regular season premiere, but week two didn’t disappoint. There were comebacks and interesting storylines to keep in mind that will play out and progress the following months. Here’s who and what stood out most after the second week of the season.

Winners: Baker Mayfield

Many viewers wondered if Buccaneers starting quarterback Baker Mayfield would follow up last year’s division winning success with progress and a new offensive coordinator. Mayfield and the offense looked great in a dominant week one win against Washington, but there was a challenge to perform just as well on the road in Detroit.

Baker Mayfield looked good in a rematch of their divisional round playoff loss against the Lions. The former 2018 number one overall pick completed 12 passes on 19 attempts for a touchdown and a 90.9 quarterback rating. Mayfield also ran five times for 34 yards and an additional score. His two, eleven yard scrambles late in the third quarter gave the Buccaneers their second lead, and his touchdown was the final score of the game.

Many believe Tampa Bay will win the NFC south due to how well they’re coached and the amount of talent on every side of the ball. Quarterback won’t be a question mark that will plague head coach Todd Bowles’ offense throughout the season. That should worry the other three teams competing in the division.

New Orleans Saints offense

One of the other three NFC south teams challenging the Buccaneers is New Orleans. Two weeks into the regular season, the Saints undoubtedly have the best offense in the NFL.

Week three hasn’t started and New Orleans scored 91 points in two games. They crushed a solid Dallas defense that played well against Cleveland week one. The Cowboys got their first stop Sunday when they intercepted quarterback Derek Carr to start the fourth quarter. The Saints scored six straight touchdowns before that giveaway and weren’t in danger of giving up the lead after three quarters. Their first punt of the season was late in the fourth quarter.

While many will point out Alvin Kamara as the star of the game with four touchdowns on 180 all-purpose (rushing and receiving) yards, New Orleans looks different on offense due to new coordinator Klint Kubiak implementing a rapid pace scheme. Former offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael was stuck in slow paced styles that were easy to defend against. A much faster version with the talented starting eleven players featuring a deep receiving core has caught opponents off-guard. It’ll take a while for opponents to figure out how to slow down Kubiak’s success.

General manager John Schneider

Many analysts had Seattle winning their first two games of the season against Denver and New England. More viewers believed the Seahawks wouldn’t be on top of the NFC west after two weeks. Seattle is the only undefeated team in their division and have fixed a lot of last year’s defensive mistakes.

Many would say the current head coach is the main reason for the early season success. Part of that is true, but the early season optimism wouldn’t happen if general manager John Schneider didn’t move on from winningest head coach in franchise history, Pete Carroll.

Carroll will always have the franchise’s respect and appreciation for many reasons, but it was clear a change needed to be made and Schneider was willing to make the hard decisions. His hiring of former Raven defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald after interviewing a lot of potential head coaching candidates has led to a team revamp and further development of a talented roster.

The Seahawks made the necessary adjustments in both games to pull out (albeit close) wins. Macdonald’s got the players buying in to his philosophy while making necessary changes. The hiring also hurt the Baltimore Ravens (more on them later) coaching staff and personnel decisions in close games. Don’t be surprised if Seattle stays in the division race most of the season because of Schneider’s offseason moves.

Justin Fields

Readers might be perplexed a quarterback making his second start on a new team and completed 13 of 20 passes for 117 yards and one touchdown would be in the winners column. The readers would have a good point, except it’s former Bears starting quarterback Justin Fields. Fields didn’t have the stable coaching and development in Chicago that he does in Pittsburgh. It’s shown after two weeks.

While the Steelers defense hasn’t given up a touchdown to start the season, Justin Fields has faced two good defenses after winning the contested starting job. He isn’t running half the time because the offensive line is much better and he’s gaining more trust with a talented receiving core. Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith is more content with a more balanced running and passing game plan than favoring a lopsided passing attack. This ensures Pittsburgh will have a more interesting season and stay relevant in the AFC north race.

Losers: Doug Pederson

Jacksonville’s suffered two agonizing losses to start the season and while one might believe quarterback and face of the franchise Trevor Lawrence is a main reason why the Jaguars are winless, the biggest culprits are the coaching staff.

In week one, Jacksonville got too conservative and let a stagnant Miami offense pull out a win at the end. In week two, Pederson’s inept decisions led the Jaguars to rely on the passing game often and it was a main reason Cleveland hung on for a win. Lawrence entered the second half with 16 yards on 12 passing attempts while runningback Travis Etienne was forgotten about despite running for 29 yards on six carries.

Despite many offensive mistakes, Jacksonville trailed by six late in the fourth. The Jaguars drew up a brilliant play to start a potential game-winning drive: let your franchise quarterback get sacked in his own endzone, giving the Browns two points and increasing the deficit.

General manager Trent Baalke made sure to pay a lot of key players like Lawrence and receiver Christian Kirk good money and these are the results. It starts with coaching, game preparation and continued development blunders that were evident in the second half of last season with Pederson on the sideline. Either Doug Pederson finds solutions or it’s another early lost season for the franchise.

Brian Daboll and the bad luck New York Giants

If it wasn’t for bad luck, the Giants would have no luck at all. Despite a solid offensive performance led by quarterback Daniel Jones, kicker Graham Gano injuring his right hamstring the opening play of the game meant special teams would play a factor in which team won.

Only New York could score three touchdowns, not get an extra point or two due to Gano’s injury, and still lose by three. Per ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt, it’s the second time an NFL team has scored three or more touchdowns and lost to a team that scored zero (teams with three or more touchdowns scored and zero touchdowns allowed are 1,294-2. The last team to lose this way was in 1989). Washington couldn’t get the ball into the Giants endzone and somehow won in overtime. Seven field goals cancelled any good feelings head coach Brian Daboll had with his offense.

It’ll be hard for New York to put a winning streak together this season with their unusually harder schedule. To lose against a division rival only because a kicker got injured to start the game and not score a few more points is bitter to sit on for a week.

Baltimore Ravens

Seattle and Baltimore are on two different paths to start the season. As mentioned above, general manager John Schneider’s made the right moves top to bottom. The Ravens have not and the result are two close losses.

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you’re aware there’s little sympathy for head coach John Harbaugh. He’s put Baltimore in many uphill positions with his terrible decision making and unnecessary approaches to overuse reigning league MVP Lamar Jackson in order to hide serious issues plaguing the team. While Harbaugh’s failures show against champion caliber teams like Kansas City, errors showing in home games against the Raiders is a surprise.

After Derrick Henry’s three yard touchdown run gave the Ravens a ten point lead early in the fourth quarter, things went downhill. Baltimore’s conservative offensive play-calling led Las Vegas to three scoring drives that averaged two minutes (each). Harbaugh knows his defense hasn’t and won’t lock down opposing receivers the same ways they did last season with former coordinator Mike Macdonald coaching a team in another conference. General manager Eric DeCosta knew this before Macdonald left for Seattle but decided he’d keep the gaffe prone Harbaugh around (despite how unprepared the team’s offensive game plan was in last year’s AFC championship game), and wanted to invest more at runningback and receiver.

The neglected offensive line is a weak link in the Ravens offense. The interior was beaten against two vicious defensive fronts in two weeks. The defense can’t stop second half offensive drives and already looks tired. Per Bill Barnwell to Scott Van Pelt on SportsCenter, Baltimore’s allowed eight plays of at least 25 yards after two weeks. That’s the most in the NFL. Five of those were against the Raiders yesterday.

DeCosta had a golden opportunity to keep a well coveted coach on staff and elevate him to the head position, but decided it was best to stay comfortable and play it safe. That decision could cost the Ravens a deep postseason run and grant another team a championship window.

Los Angeles Rams

It’s one thing to lose against a division rival early in the season. It’s another to get blown out by more than 30 points, especially when you’ve dominated said rival for years.

Los Angeles looked awful before receiver Cooper Kupp left due to an ankle injury in Sunday’s loss at Arizona. Defensive coordinator Chris Shula had no answer for Detroit in week one when it mattered most, but many expected that due to how the Lions have a lot of veteran offensive talent. The Cardinals have a lot of younger, inexperienced offensive talent that veteran defensive coaches like Shula can exploit and take advantage of each possession.

None of that happened. Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray finished with a perfect passer rating and runningback James Conner shredded the Rams defense while Los Angeles’ offense did almost nothing outside of a late third quarter touchdown.

It’s possible head coach Sean McVay didn’t take the Cardinals seriously due to how well the Rams played against Detroit the previous Sunday and how he’s won all but (now) three games against Arizona since becoming head coach in 2017 (including nine straight games in Glendale, where Los Angeles lost yesterday). There’s no reason to panic but the increasing number of injuries aren’t a good sign.

2024 AFC Playoff Picks

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The 2023 NFL season was a success for the American Football Conference. From the close division winning races to Kansas City’s second straight championship title, the biggest takeaway was the continued conference depth for playoff contenders. Half the divisions could have any team come out on top and no one would be surprised. The remaining three teams that don’t win a division title, have a great chance to go far as a wild-card candidate this year.

2023 featured at least three Super Bowl favorites in two divisions. Now it’s six in all four. The Chiefs will go for a three-peat title run in a conference that again improved at every position. Finally, expect a hotly contested divisional race between the Jaguars and Texans to heat up again down south, this time with a more balanced roster in Houston and a more desperate team in Jacksonville. Time to break down which seven teams in the AFC have the best chance of reaching the playoffs for 2025.

AFC South: Houston Texans

Houston added more offensive pieces for sophomore starting quarterback C.J. Stroud IV to rely on, including All-Pro veteran wide receiver Stefon Diggs.

Like the NFC, this article starts with the easiest of the four divisions. Tennessee is easily at the bottom, so the south is a three team race. Indianapolis’ serious lack of depth at receiver and runningback will be exposed before Thanksgiving while Jacksonville’s defense could jeopardize postseason dreams. This leaves Houston as the best choice.

The Texans added serious offensive firepower with runningback Joe Mixon and wide receivers Stefon Diggs and Quinton Cephus. General manager Nick Caserio also signed a lot of short term roster depth deals on defense. Head coach DeMeco Ryans brings out the best in his players and will help develop the players on short-term deals. Houston will be taken more seriously this season by every team on their schedule, so the organization made the right moves to stay ahead and should be a threat to any AFC team wanting the top seed.

AFC East: Miami Dolphins, New York Jets

Miami re-signing franchise quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to a four year, $212.4 million contract last month confirms he’s the face of the franchise…and the AFC east.

The window shut on the Bills Super Bowl and division winning chances after the offseason decimated their roster. Defensive captain and middle linebacker Matt Milano will miss at least the first month of the regular season. This is a perfect time for Miami to take advantage of vulnerable Buffalo and dominate the division.

The Dolphins signed tight-end Jonnu Smith to replace Mike Gesicki and Odell Beckham Jr. for more receiver depth. On defense the secondary remains a question mark, but the front seven is filled with veterans who pressure opposing offensive lines well. It will take a full team effort to beat Miami even when winter settles in.

Second time’s the charm? Head coach Robert Saleh and quarterback Aaron Rodgers get to re-do a lost season, hopefully with better results and a full season from Rodgers.

New England could be the worst team in the league and Buffalo doesn’t have the offensive firepower nor defensive depth to stay in the playoff race if Jets starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers plays the whole season. The 2023 New York defense was fantastic but the offense struggled after Rodgers ruptured his left Achilles tendon minutes into last year’s Monday night intro versus the Bills.

Many are unsure how Aaron Rodgers will perform after not playing a whole year. While New York retained a lot of talent on every side of the ball after last season, there’s also better depth at quarterback should Rodgers fall to injury again. Finally, the Jets have a favorable schedule where they could win ten or eleven games before a week 12 bye.

AFC West: Los Angeles Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs

The city of Los Angeles has their best head coach-quarterback duo this century.

This could be the most anticipated prediction of the conference. Anyone who’s been a fan of American football for over two decades is aware of new Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh’s success. The AFC version of Dan Quinn, Harbaugh’s hiring in 2011 by San Francisco led the 49ers to three of their best playoff runs of the 21st century (until current coach Kyle Shanahan was hired in 2017).

Los Angeles desperately needs something to get a fanbase excited while giving a roster of stars the best chances to succeed. Starting quarterback Justin Herbert will be one of the league’s best players this season and is fortunate to have help at every offensive position. The defense retains star pass rushers and an improving secondary that will cause a lot of problems for champion favorites like Kansas City.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes II and head coach Andy Reid will do something only the duo of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick have done this century: go for a title three-peat.

Speaking of Kansas City, the Chiefs had their worst season in the Patrick Mahomes era and still won a championship. General manager Brett Veach went to work after the title parade and quickly added receiver depth, signing Marquise Brown and Montrell Washington, and re-signing Mecole Hardman. Veach addressed tight-end depth signing Irv Smith and drafting Geor’Quarius Spivey. These additions should help take some of the load off of 34 year old All-Pro Travis Kelce.

On defense, Kansas City will be a problem for opposing offenses to attack since they know how to stop the run and the secondary’s still aggressive but plays smarter. Their recent postseason successes could turn into late season fatigue, especially when the Chargers have more vigor and determination to finish higher in the standings.

AFC North: Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns

As long as Baltimore has league MVP Lamar Jackson (8), they’re a favorite to win the north.

The loss of defensive coordinator Mike McDonald won’t linger like the loss of Dan Quinn in Dallas, but it will be felt once the Ravens face a top offense before January. Part of the reason McDonald’s loss won’t sting as much is because franchise starting quarterback and league MVP Lamar Jackson’s under center.

Baltimore’s questionable offensive game plan sent them home versus Kansas City in the conference championship. The receiving core was better than expected last year, but had too many drops and poor route running in crucial moments. General manager Eric DeCosta signed behemoth runningback Derrick Henry as another threat in the running game and added receiver Russell Gage. Tight end Mark Andrews should be healthy most of the season, and that could put the Ravens in cruise control most of 2023.

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Jerry Jeudy (3, white) is an extra boost for an offense that surprisingly relies too much on the running game.

Outside of Baltimore, the remaining three north teams have great chances to make the postseason. Pittsburgh might be in trouble if they don’t add receiver depth by the trade deadline and Cincinnati losing runningback Joe Mixon while not adding important defensive players will come back to bite. This leaves Cleveland as the best remaining choice.

The Browns won’t replicate last year’s success on defense with coordinator Jim Schwartz, but the offense should and has to be much better with quarterback DeShaun Watson under center. General manager Andrew Berry kept most of the 2023 starting offense and added former Bronco wideout Jerry Jeudy as another option for Watson. If Cleveland’s offense struggles like it did last year, expect Berry to clean a lot of talent out. The Browns have more stars than the Steelers and Bengals, they just have to play with better rhythm this year.

Total 2023-2024 regular and postseason picks: 4-3

Important Note to the reader: NFL’s Winners and Losers will not be published for the first week of the regular season due to the writer, editor and publisher having time off. Winners and Losers will resume week two of the regular season after the September 15th weekend. Articles will resemble last year’s consistency, with at least 12 publications for 18 weekends games are/were played.